Identity
by Gus Kinney The Prodigal Son
Summary: Gus does not have a boyfriend so his family trys to help him with blind dates he finds one that is perfect for him perhaps to perfect...
1. no boyfriend

Gus Kinney: hello i'm back again and with a QAF story so i hope you like the story and come back for more of it

A soft sigh escaped me as I stared up at the ceiling. Sunlight was just starting to peek through the curtains, but I still had a considerably amount of time before I even had to consider getting out of bed. Most kids my age had the same reaction with having to go to school, but I really just didn't want to go. It was frustrated being stared at all and dealing with all the whispers and giggling as I walked by. That was just the girls. A few guys had asked me out too, but none of them were really datable. Someone else might have saw some potential lying there, but that was their concern and not mine. "Gus, wake up, you're going to be late."

Dragging myself out of bed as slowly as possible, I threw back the curtains and dressed. Mondays are the worst. Sometimes they were better when there had been a big party and most of the kids were worn out and hung over, but I couldn't recall there having been one this weekend. Normally everybody would be bouncing off the wall all Friday afternoon if there was then cut out of 6th period early.

I grabbed my bag off the back of my desk chair then wandered downstairs. Flopping down in my chair, I grabbed an apple out of the bowl, wanting something to do that would kill time before I had to go to the bus. Showing up early never really turned out well for me. "Did you do your homework?"

I nodded absentmindedly, gazing out the window above the sink.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded again. The only reason I was sure was because I remembered having to actually look up the answers for my history questions instead of being able to use the book. Although the teacher did tell us it wasn't going to be in there. It wouldn't have been the first time I was told that when it was. At least they hadn't found out about my test tomorrow. I never would have gotten away with studying less than an hour.

I rinsed my hands in the sink before grabbing my bag and heading off. My mom called a quick 'have fun at school' as I pulled my shoes on, but I didn't respond. I was doubtful of having a good day.

A chill ran through me as I shuffled down the street, and I wondered if going back and grabbing my coat would be worth it. Judging by the small gathering at the bus stop I doubted it. Moms would not be happy if they had to drive me to school again because I missed the bus. I wasn't prepared to test their patience today.

A small group of girls stopped talking and glanced at me as I stood a few feet away. It's way too early for this. Moving my bag to one shoulder, I reached inside and pulled my headphones out. I needed them for the almost hour long bus ride anyway, so putting them on a few minutes early couldn't hurt. If I was lucky I could get away with leaving them in until third period. Loud music was probably the only reason I was surviving the year.

Someone threw a paper ball at me as I took up my usual seat at the front of the bus, but I pretended not to notice. The sleeves of my shirt were just long enough to cover my hands if I pulled them down all the way, so I used them as makeshift gloves. Our school was never kept warm enough. It was better than being outside, but not by much some days. I was going to have to start digging my sweaters out of the back of my closet soon.

The bus ride was a long and thankfully uneventful one, but we arrived a lot earlier than normal since a few stops were empty. Meaning instead of the usual fifteen minutes of wandering around until school started I had twice the amount of time. It was really enough time to start anything, but at the same time, I could only walk so slowly to homeroom and spend so much time organizing the three books in my locker before I got bored.

A few straggling couples wandered in ahead of me, and I had to bypass another pair trying to make out in the doorway to an empty classroom. Was it really that hard to keep your hands off someone in a public setting? I get it, you're in love, now stop dry humping in the hallway.

Although I suppose I wasn't the right person to judge, on the right day seeing two people holding hands frustrated me. Out of all the people that threw themselves at me, I couldn't even find a decent boyfriend. My standards couldn't have been that high. I was just looking for something long term with someone who didn't manage to get on every single one of my nerves. Maybe the bar was too low. I mean outside of school I had no problems with kids my own age. The people I saw on a daily basis were just that. People. Nameless and faceless beings stuck in the same classes I was for however many days were left in school. Nobody really stood out to me, and that was probably the problem.

I started when someone touched my shoulder suddenly and turned away from my open locker. I had moved my books around for a good five minutes but nothing could change how little space there was inside the dented metal cube. I pulled my headphones out and slowly turned to find a red-head with glasses standing there. "Can I help you with something?"

She looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I had seen her before. "I'm in your history class and I wasn't here Friday. Rumor has it you take good notes so I was wondering if I could borrow them? I have a study hall first, and I can copy them then."

I shrugged and started rummaging through my bag, eventually producing my purple history notebook. She thanked me, relaxing slightly as she scanned the last page. "I don't know if they'll be much help."

"No, no! These are perfect, thanks. I'll give this back to you later."

"Right…" I watched her briskly walk away as the bell rang. I slammed my locker shut and continued on at a much slower pace. My homeroom teacher was always late and I could get away with showing up a few minutes late. Science wasn't really my favorite subject, but if someone got our teacher off subject for more than five minutes odds were we wouldn't follow the actual lesson planned for the day. On a cold, and sleepy Monday that was just the thing I was hoping for. But we had a ton of homework for her over the weekend, and the same kid always brought it up.

Another blonde girl in a cheerleader's uniform gave me a flirty wave as I passed by, but I didn't acknowledge it. I was pretty sure she already had a boyfriend and I wasn't about to be curb stomped because someone decided to start telling everybody I was the 'other' man. If she was really so unhappy she should have broken up with him then go chum the waters, not the other way around. Unless she was one of those girls who purposely stirred up drama… That was definitely a turn off. Who has fun adding more stress to their lives?

The thought of getting yelled at for not doing something I knew I was supposed to do was enough trouble I was willing to risk currently. Especially after I spent most of the summer grounded because I kept breaking curfew. I hadn't exactly been doing something I shouldn't have, but at the same time my moms thought I had been spending too much time with my dad. Sometimes I couldn't say I blamed her. Now he was the walking definition of drama. But I couldn't deny the fact that he gave good advice on a lot of things. Maybe I should ask one of them for help, between the three of us we should be able to figure something out.

After stopping off at home to drop off my bag and make sure my moms knew where I was, I caught the bus into the city. dad could have easily picked me up, but I didn't think I would have been allowed out if my moms knew where I was going. It was a school night and he wasn't exactly the most responsible person. Although what did it say about me if I knew this and still always went to hang out with him. It was the only excitement I got. I could have done without him bringing me along to clubs. I've had enough twenty somethings trying to pick me up because of who I was with to last a life time.

Climbing off the bus, I let myself into his building and slowly climbed up the stairs. It wasn't that early for him, but I still didn't want to take any chances. I even went so far as to announce my presence before I arrived. I'm not home right now.

I sighed softly and unlocked the door. Stepping into the area of controlled chaos. It would be back to it's normal, stately manor by this time Wednesday rolled around. Then this place would go back to looking like a frat house by Sunday and the cycle would repeat itself.

Flopping down on his couch, I busied myself with a game on my phone. Doubt slowly began to creep over my head and I was starting to believe that this was a bad idea. dad was the farthest thing I could get from a love expert. Last time I checked he didn't really go around looking for a boyfriend. Still… he might have been the best option I had. He would have a more impartial opinion than my parents. Sometimes bluntness was what I needed. If I don't do this now I don't think I ever will. I'm sick of being alone.

When the door opened I had started to enter a light doze and sat up slowly. "Hey kid, what's up?"

I groggily looked over as dad happily tossed his keys on the counter. My train of thought was temporarily halted as I tried to resist the urge to close my eyes again. He sat next to me and ruffled my hair while I cleared my head. "Nothing, I guess...school?"

I rubbed my face with my hands and hunched forward, realizing how late it had gotten. "New question, what brings you here?" I knew this was a bad idea.

"Uh… Nothing, forget it." Standing I turned to reach for my bag, forgetting I hadn't brought it with me.

"I don't think you'd come all the way out here without telling your moms for nothing." A frustrated sigh escaped me and I flopped back down, undoing the top couple buttons on my shirt. "I could have told them."

dad leaned back against the armrest and rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't get the usual call about 'make sure he's home by seven', Lecture. Now stop stalling.

"I just…" Sinking back into the cushions I closed my eyes and tried to organize my thoughts. "I want a relationship. But I'm not sure if I'm ready for one because I think I might like the idea of being in a relationship more than I might actually like being in one. But that's not really what I'm asking. What's supposed to come first, love or dating? Because I really can't say I've fallen in love with anybody who passingly flirts with me, and I don't think I'd date any of them either. Only I'm sick of being alone, but there's nobody to really-

"Okay, okay, slow down." I took a deep breath and waited for him to say something, and hoped that it would be helpful. I hadn't intended for all of that to come out at once, but I guess I had been worrying about this a lot more than I realized. "You breathing now?" I nodded again and took a deep breath. "Good. Now in my not so expert opinion, I think you're over thinking this way too much. There is not an instruction manual for these sorts of things. If there was, I wouldn't read it anyway."

He paused and I flopped against the back of the couch. How was that supposed to help? He might as well have just said 'don't worry about it' or 'give it time'. If I wanted to hear that I wouldn't have bothered coming all the way out here. He had to have something buried in there that was better advice. It felt like everybody else was going off and finding love or stupid teen romance and there I was. An eligible and apparently attractive bachelor without someone to give the time of day too.

"Don't give me that."

I arched an eyebrow and looked over at him. "What?"

"I wasn't done. Don't rush me, I might have to take longer now. Who knows? I might have to run to the store or-

He cut himself off and smirked when I glared at him. He shouldn't have been getting this much out of my internal crisis. "Gus, relax I'm kidding. Step one, what are you looking to gain?"

"I'm supposed to want something?"

"Long term, unless you want a hook up. Then I'll have to pretend this little chat didn't happen because a certain someone would not be happy to find out I set you up. Then there's all these various subclasses. Honeymooners, who just can't seem to stop having sex in bathrooms. Soulmates who do everything together, and finish each other's thoughts constantly. Oh, the ones who you can't tell are dating one another because they are barely invested in one another. Those are my favorite, they're so easily led astray. There's more but I don't want to bore you."

"I'm definitely not looking for that." Maybe I couldn't figure this out because of that. I mean, I just wanted to not be alone all the time. Should I have been trying to look for a friend instead of a boyfriend? It didn't feel like companionship was the only thing I wanted. It was more of a knowing there was someone outside your family who cared for you at the end of the day. Friend could do that I guess, but… intimacy felt like a better word. "Something long term I guess. But I don't know what I'm looking for either."

"Well what don't you like about anybody who has tried to pick you up?"

"Obnoxious...clingy. It's all more of a 'oh look who I'm dating now'. Instead of a 'this kid's cool, and I'm happy we're dating."

We locked eyes and he replied, "So you don't want to be a handbag?"

"If you mean a status icon then yes?"

A long, thoughtful silence filled the room, and I was expecting something halfways profound. Sadly I was very mistaken. "Well you've already weeded all of those people out, right?"

Sharply exhaling I sat up again and checked the time. "That's not helping me any. I don't talk to any of them ever. And that's pretty much the majority of my class, and then some."

"See? You know who not to approach. Why don't you go search the fringes for someone as equally detached and seemingly romantically frustrated as you are."

I brushed back some of my hair and slowly blinked. "That could still be anybody. There's a whole table of them at lunch. They sit there and don't talk to each other, and they don't interact at any point outside of lunch. I don't even think they know each other's names."

"Gus you have to work with me. You aren't making this easy."

"No you're just making this hard."

"I'm pretty sure that's you." I propped my head up on my elbow and studied the whirls in the wooden floor. It gave me something to do besides convince myself I was better off just being alone. Thinking about running off and finding love, or at least the illusion of it, was a lot easier said then done. I mean, I could wake up and tell myself I was going to become a cat, but there's literally no way for a human being to turn into a cat. Sitting here and not even trying seemed like a waste too. What was I supposed to do?

"What do you want from me?"

He shrugged. "A straight answer would be nice." I groaned and flopped sideways, burying my face in a pillow. Did he think this was funny? Because it's not. This is not what I signed up for. "Come on, I was joking."

"Can you joke a little less?"

"Yes, but I don't think I will. Just, give it some time, or something. Some people are late bloomers in the romance department. You definitely are." He threw his hands up in surrender when I tossed a pillow at him and continued, "hey, I'm not complaining. It's better than 'my hearts broken and I'll never love again'. Until the next person comes along and the process just repeats over and over until you're in a relationship where you are both settling for one another because you both feel like there's nothing better out there."

"Gee thanks dad, I feel so much better." I slid to the floor again, realizing my sarcasm had gone right over his head. "Take me home?"

"You sure do want a lot today. What's next? We going to stop for ice cream?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his keys off the counter. "It's way too cold for that."

Gus Kinney: dad's lol i hope you you come back for more


	2. Blind dates

Gus Kinney: hello we now have the second chapter sorry it took a good bit but we got now and we hope you like it

The short walk up my street seemed a lot longer than normal. Today in general seemed to be three times as long as it should have been. I hadn't felt any better after talking with my dad, but I had let my mind wander from the subject at least. He was dragging me out again this weekend and I would rather not buy too much into it. When he was planning something it was better to not ask any questions. I just wanted to get through the rest of the week without falling asleep in class again. At this rate I was going to fail most of my mid-terms. Having a couple Cs was already pushing my luck, failing any tests would just throw my grades into the toilet. Then I wouldn't have been able to worry about being single because I'd be up to my ass in chores.

The house was empty when I finally pushed the door open, but it wasn't unusual. I had about an hour before I needed to start looking productive. I dropped my bag off in my room and threw my almost dead phone on the charger. _Maybe I can find something other than fruit for a snack._ I was pretty sure there were some cookies or something holed over from the baking spree mom had last weekend. At least I was hoping there was. It was great knowing they wanted me to eat healthy and all, but a growing boy could only eat so many green and leafy things before they started to want something other than that. I was starting to get an urge to dump salt on things that you really shouldn't be putting salt on.

I was about halfway down the hall before my phone started ringing, and briskly walked back to my room to answer it. _Oh no. He's calling early?_"Hello?"

"Are you home?"

"Why?"

"Yes or no. Time is of the essence."

"Yes but-

"Great, I'll be there in ten minutes." I heard screeching tires and a horn blaring in the background before he changed. "More like five."

I sighed as he hung up and wandered downstairs. I didn't know what my father was planning, but I could feel a headache forming. The only problem was I couldn't find any Ibuprofen or Advil. Where could it have all gone? Last time I checked we had a two full bottles in the medicine cabinet! I rubbed my temples in slow concentrated circles and willed the pain away, or at least started to ignore it for now. When it started to hurt again I could always take a nap that helped sometimes.

The front door opened and my dad strode in, draping an arm around my shoulder. "You need help with your math homework, right?"

"No? I actually took notes today."

"Wrong answer, you do. Now go get it."

"I already did it?"

"Work with me Gus. Just go get your book then." When I opened my mouth to respond he quickly interjected, "and don't ask me why. Just do it. Right now. Go."

I bit back my frustration and nodded slowly as I went upstairs to grab my math homework. I had thought not having any would get me out of this, but apparently I was wrong. _I have a really bad feeling about this._

At the bottom of the stairs I glanced into the kitchen so find some kid with thick-framed glasses and black hair sitting at the table. Books were spread out around him and he seemed to be busy with whatever he was here for. "Who the hell is-?

"Go ask. I have to go get Justin. We're having a late lunch. I'll text you later to see how this goes."

"Dad wait!" He had already whisked away and I could hear him speeding down the street. _What the hell am I supposed to say if my parents come home!?_ I rubbed my face with my hands a few times then went back upstairs to spend a solid ten minutes 'looking' for a pencil and a piece of paper. I grabbed my algebra book where it had been abandoned on the stairs.

I sat down across from him as he continued to scribble away. "I'm really sorry about this."

A long, awkward silence fell across the room, filled with turning pages and pencil gliding across paper. Eventually I brought myself to open my math book and struggle through a few problems before he looked up and finally spoke. "It's not your fault. My parents think I spend too much time studying. But I'm second in my class so it's going to pay off."

I nodded slowly. "And you're?"

"Aqil."

"Gus."

"I'm supposed to be helping you study."

I nodded again, showing him my math assignment. He was either choosing to ignore my father's underlying intentions or he was completely unaware of them. Both were good for me. Even if he was to ask me out I didn't think it would work. He didn't seem too stand offish or unfriendly considering the situation but still. I was intimidated. I couldn't exactly pinpoint why, but I was.

"You're factoring wrong. You need to make sure the variable make the equation the same problem that you started with. And your operations are wrong. You can't have two negatives if you're trying to have a negative number because then everything will be positive."

I blinked a few times, finding him more difficult to understand than my half-baked math notes and the brief and not very helpful explanations from the book. I could sooner text Justin the problem and get a better looking answer than my guess work. Between the two of us we somehow managed to get something that was passing. And I always 'compared notes' with kids around me who had done about half the work.

Aqil sighed and pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose before ripping a sheet of paper out of the back of his notebook and doing out a few problems step by step. Normally when my teacher was doing this she was going so painfully slow I felt like she was patronizing us, so I ended up not paying attention to her wasting half the class going over problems when she could just put the answer key up for a few minutes. This was better since I wasn't stuck sitting through a ton of stupid and mostly sarcastic questions.

After all his hard work I felt bad that I would probably end up forgetting most of it by Friday afternoon. I wasn't going to tell him that, but it was a wasted effort. "Now do you get it?"

"I think." I tried a few problems on my own, and it didn't take as long as it normally would. Hell, I hadn't even texted Justin to ask for help yet.

Aquil's phone went off as he started packing away his text books. "My ride's here."

"Bye." I didn't bother walking him, out. The house wasn't that small and I didn't want to leave a lasting impression. If this was his idea of helping, I might make honor roll at least once before graduation.

"You were awfully keen on coming to the park today."

Dad shrugged and wrapped his arm around Justin's shoulder, although he didn't really seem to notice. He was off in his own little world again. Or he was working through the problem that presented himself with all disgruntled texts he was sending on the way over here. We settled under a shady tree. Justin pulled out his notebook and started scribbling away, leaving Dad watching a little too intently. "If this is you helping again, I'm walking home."

"Can't I just want to spend some time with you with no ulterior motives?"

"You saying that is an ulterior motive."

"Nonsense." I rolled my eyes and seated myself in the grass a few feet away from him. I didn't know what was about to happen, but if it was anything close to my study 'date' I was going to crash and burn. I had a feeling he had a lot more cards up his sleeve than he was letting on. Maybe he had a whole deck stuffed up there.

A shadow fell over me after I had started playing games on my phone and I looked up. Some kid in a varsity jacket from a couple towns over stared down at me. "We're one short, want to play?"

He tossed a football back and forth between his hands and continued to watch me. A lazy smile spread across his face and I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. There was something off about him, but I couldn't tell what. "Pass. My parents don't want me playing football."

"What they don't know won't hurt anybody."

"Can't. My boyfriend will get mad. He's really jealous."

"Right…" He nodded slowly and walked away. He exchanged frustrated glances with my father, but I pretended not to notice. "You didn't even give him a chance."

"He seems like the horrible kid who slips shots into your soda when you aren't looking. Who knows…? Maybe he does." I tossed my phone aside when I died and looked over at him. Justin nodded in agreement and added, "I could see him slipping a few kids a mickey or two."

"Justin you aren't helping! You're just mad."

"Out of the two of us you and I both know who is severely lacking in the common sense department. Besides it's Gus' choice and if he doesn't want to date who you pick then it's his choice because you have crap taste in men."

Justin smirked while Dad glared at him. It was obvious there was a lot more to this than what was on the surface, but if Justin was involved in this, who knew how long I was going to have to keep hanging out with strange men. _I knew seeing him was a bad idea. I should have just dealt with myself._"So what does that say about you?"

"Not much, but I choose to put up with you." _These two are going to be the death of me._

With a frustratingly empty Saturday looming before me and nothing halfway decent on TV, I decided to wander my neighborhood. There weren't that many people out and about, but it might have been because the weather was predicting rain. I hadn't thought anything of it. The sky was bright blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Despite having been sent on 'dates' nearly every day the past week, it was nice to have some time to myself. And my father couldn't find me if I wasn't home.

Pausing at the end of the street, I looked for cars more out of habit than with reason. I couldn't hear any coming. A tall guy in scuffed combat boots and ripped jeans was trailing along behind me, walking along in a swerving line. The chain attached to his belt jingled every other step and he would occasionally pause to scribble something down in the notebook he was carrying, before continuing along, lost in his own little world.

_You have got to be kidding me? How predictable am I?_ At this rate I'd be turned off to dating before I even started. Where the hell does he keep finding these people? _No wait… I'm better off not knowing. He might take me along on one of his little outings._ I sighed softly and pretended not to notice him. If I was lucky I wouldn't be stuck going on another date and this whole thing could blow over. Hopefully sooner than later.

A few mini-vans driving by cut off my train of thought, and I moved closer to the side of the road. There wasn't a sidewalk so you had to stay as close to the makeshift curb as possible. The slight moment of distraction was enough for him to catch up with me. "Are you Gus?"

His brown eyes met mine when I turned around and I nodded. "Yeah."

"Eric. I don't know if Brian told you about me or not, but I preferred to turn down the invitation personally. I'm not prepared to enter another relationship yet. The only reason I let my cousin drag me into this is because he thinks I should get back out there."

I breathed a sigh of relief and started walking again, falling in to step next to Eric when he followed. "That makes two of us. This probably isn't the best way to go about this."

He nodded in agreement, slipping the cap back onto his pen. "You do seem a little young to be going on blind dates. I'd give it at least a mid-life crisis."

"Thanks." I paused and slipped my hands into my pockets, kicking a stray pebble out of the way. "I was starting to wonder if this was really the best approach. I'm not compatible with anybody who's been sent my way."

"I think that if you step back, take a deep breath, and wait this out good things will happen. The universe doesn't stack the odds against you unless you've done a lot of reasons to do so. And I don't think you have."

I allowed myself a small smile and asked, "Do you really think so?"

He shrugged, brushing back some of his long hair. "Sure, why not? I think everything happens for a reason, even if you don't understand why. Only time will tell. Sometimes it takes five minutes and others it taken five years. But you'll get there eventually."

As much as being told to give it time usually bothered me, it felt different now. I could be impatient so that was why I never liked being told that, especially when it felt rushed and half-assed. But Eric actually seemed to believe that's how things worked. It sounded more convincing when it wasn't generic. "At least I hope so otherwise all this patience and forgiveness crap is going to have been for nothing." He laced his fingers behind his head and laughed nervously. These personal issues probably required anger management. _I just can't win can I?_ Everybody had been a mental case waiting to happen or uninterested or both. How hard was it to find a guy my age who somewhat decent and interested? My standards weren't possibly that high. I still didn't even know what I specifically wanted in a boyfriend. But I knew I hadn't found any of it yet. Maybe bits and pieces here and there, but not enough of each thing for me to really decide I wanted to spend more time around them.

_Maybe I just am better off alone. _Then I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting important things or meaningless fights. At least for right now any way. School would probably get in the way of things any way. I didn't spend a whole lot of time studying, and it wasn't like I was in any clubs, but if I started failing things again I'd end up grounded and it was never fun explaining why you haven't been allowed out of the house for months on end because you didn't do your homework. It was a miracle I hadn't ended up staying back or wasting my summers in school yet. I wasn't about to get a scholarship for college, or graduate at the top of my class, but at least I was going to graduate on time. "Maybe you're just overthinking the whole thing."

"I thought that but not I don't think I'm so sure."

Eric shrugged. "Believe what you want, but it's really not rocket science. You pick somebody you like spending time with, and you spend time with them. More time than you spend with your friends but not more than you're at home. And always bring them home half an hour before curfew. Then you look responsible and his parents won't be as upset if you end up staying out later than intended once or twice."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. That's it. It might not work like that for everybody, I mean, there's going to be some rough patches eventually, but communicate and you'll do fine. The first fight is a milestone."

"Are you sure?"

"Two years. Best two years of high school. Well almost, but I won't bore you with the small things. But I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about. I don't think she would have put up with me for so long if I wasn't doing at least something right."

I nodded thoughtfully, trying to take his advice to heart, but the seed of doubt had already taken root. It sounded too easy. And a lot of things sounded easy until the time came to do it, then you ended up confused and had to read the instructions only to find out there weren't any so you try looking it up and-

"Relax. You're definitely making this harder than it needs to be. It's just meeting someone. Take it like… a group project. Sit near them and ask what they got for the first problem, give the wrong answer and say you don't understand. Boom talking point and group projects never stay on topic for too long."

I sighed in frustration but nodded in agreement. Who knew how long I would keep this up if I didn't eventually take someone's advice? _I can give it time. And if dad doesn't set me up with a few more nut cases I might actually learn something from these little interactions. I can do this. I _will_ do this._

The bell cheerfully chiming overhead clashed with my opposing mood as I wandered into Michael's store. Michael looked up from the counter, his brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"

I threw my hands up in frustration and breathed out a puff of air. "If I have to go on one more date, my head's going to explode. All these guys have been crazy."

Michael paused thoughtfully then shrugged to himself. "I was wondering what your father's been up to. He'll get bored eventually."

"It's been two weeks."

"That sounds about right. He'll stop in the next couple days and you can go back to dealing with your romantic troubles yourself. But if you're really looking for a boyfriend, I can think of better people to ask."

I rubbed my face with my hands a few times and closed my eyes for a few seconds. "I didn't even ask him to set me up, I asked him what I should do and this happened."

"You know how Brian is, he goes above and beyond or does such a crap job you don't ask him to do anything ever again. But then you do and regret it."

I nodded slightly and glanced behind me as the door opened again. Some scrawny kid on a skateboard with purple wheels rolled in, pulling his headphones out as Michael greeted him. "Hey Seb."

The kid pulled up his baggy pants, covered in decorative buckles and straps, and rolled to a stop. He pulled a lollipop out of the pocket of his Captain America hoodie and shot Michael an unamused glare. "Dude, if you're going to shorten it, it's Sebby. Seb seems so incomplete. It's the second syllable that makes it." His tongue was already blue, but he slipped another grape lollipop into his mouth. If I hadn't known any better I might have mistaken him for a girl at first. His round face and small stature threw me off. _Damn he's cute._ "Can you please not ride that thing in here? You're an accident waiting to happen.

Sebby hopped off and rested his skateboard against the counter. "Sorry, forgot." He reached into his pocket again and placed a fifty dollar bill on the counter. "And can you put that on my tab? I haven't paid my phone bill yet and it's nice to know I can get the new Thor when it comes out."

He glanced over at me as Michael placed the money into his register and changed something on the computer. Sebby glanced over at me, his blue eyes briefly locking with mine before he smiled and cheerfully greeted, "Hi there."

I ran my fingers through my hair a few times and looked away, mumbling a response. Sebby drummed his fingers on the counter a few times then added, "Speaking of new issued, when is yours coming out? That cliffhanger is killing me!"

Michael paused, trying to formulate a response before stating, "Production has been delayed due to artistic differences."

Sebby threw his hands up and started wandering towards the rack labeled X-Men. He idly leafed through the issues placed there and exclaimed, "Dude come on, I'm dying here!"

"Who's that?"

Michael looked over at Sebby and shrugged. "He's under the table. Figured if the kid was going to spend so much time here he might as well have a job. Why?"

He arched an eyebrow in a taunting manner and I glared back at him. "Stop. You're as bad as my dad."

Michael shrugged. "I think it'd work. But I'm not getting involved with this. Do what you want."

Sebby wandered to the other side of the store before asking, "What do you think I'd like? My mom's getting mad I keep reading the same issues over and over again and she's threatening to buy me books."

"She's finally realizing you're way to in to Thor and his spandex suit." He paused while Sebby rolled his eyes, waiting for some sort of protest but getting none. "And what's so bad about books."

"The last book she bought me was _Twilight_. I can't deal with another stupid teen romance."

"Wonder Woman?"

"I hate Superman."

He smirked and jokingly suggested, "Aqua man?"

Sebby glared at him and blinked slowly a few times. "You aren't funny."

"Deadpool?"

"I'm not really in a Deadpool mood… Hell Boy?" He flipped through the comic for a few minutes before grabbing a couple more off the shelf. "I guess these could work."

Sebby wandered back to the counter and continued, "As you're number one customer I reserve the right to bring these back if I don't like them."

Michael shrugged. "Fine by me, as long as they aren't destroyed."

Sebby smacked the counter and changed the subject. "And for your information, Thor is a girl now. She'll kick your ass any day with her bad ass hammer."

"Scale of one to ten, how much did you cry."

"Seven."

Michael folded his arms over his chest and Sebby giggled. "Zero. Once the shock wore off I decided it was for the best. Besides now Wonder Woman has some competition. Imagine it." He spun and jumped, posing with his arms on his small hips. "The Amazonian Warrior Princess versus," He jumped again and changed poses, pretending he had a weapon. "The demigod, bearing the hammer of myth. Protecting the Seven Realms and going where no demigod has gone before."

Michael and I exchanged confused glances, before he rolled his eyes and dropped Sebby's comics on the counter. "Don't hurt yourself. Your insurance doesn't cover 'reenacting super hero moves'."

Sebby pouted. "Come on! Thor would totally win! You know you want to read that."

Michael interjected. "Wonder Woman can hold Mjolnir so if she took her hammer she'd lose."

"She's a demigod! She automatically is more durable than a human and as such-

"Would revert back without the hammer and be human."

Sebby opened his mouth to respond then closed it again, furrowing his brow in attempt to come up with a response and drawing a blank. "Thor would win because they're better." He stuck his tongue out and checked his phone as it went off, his eyes widening slightly. "And that is the metaphorical bell that is saving me. See you later Michael." He waved to me in passing and grabbed his skateboard, rolling out of the store again.

"Now you've seen who I have to deal with on about a daily basis."

"He's not _that_ bad." I shrugged slightly, trying to seem impartial to the somewhat strange boy. Eccentricity seemed to follow the comic book type. Although Sebby was pretty low key compared to some of the stuff I've seen kids in school arguing about. I wouldn't mind meeting up again with him if the circumstances required it. Out of all the random strangers I've had to interact with this week he was by far the most normal.

Gus Kinney: and here we go lets see what happens and we will try to get the next chapter up sooner


	3. I'm single and available

Gus Kinney: hey here is chapter 3

"Hey Sebby, perfect timing."

Sebby froze in his tracks and looked to Michael, his blue eyes widening slightly. Jumping off his skateboard he pulled his lollipop out of his mouth and waited. Michael double checked to make sure his keys were still in his pocket before explaining, "You're now working this afternoon. Watch the store while I'm gone."

Sebby visibly relaxed and fully entered the store. He paused, seeming to think about his plans before replying, "Okay. I can't stay after six though. I have an overdue project and my mom's going to kill me when she find out I haven't even started."

"I should be back by then. Michael paused, fixing the collar on his coat, then continued, his keys jangling at his side. "I should be back by then, if not you can close early."

We watched him go, but it wasn't until the sound of the bell over the door had faded before Sebby climbed around the other side of the counter and dropped his drawstring bag on it. My eyes lingered on his slightly expose torso as he pulled his sweatshirt off. He met my wandering gaze with a cheerful smile. "Hi again. Are you staying?"

I cleared my throat to hide my embarrassment and stood up straighter than before. "Yeah."

Sebby slid onto the counter and turned so he was facing me, dangling his legs over the edge. "I don't think I got your name before."

"I'm Gus."

"Sebby. Well Sebastian, but I like Sebby better. My mom only uses my full name when she's really mad at me. Or my teacher when they think I'm not paying attention." His eyes widened as he remembered something, and he leaned forward so fast I thought he was about to tumble to the floor. I took half a step back in preparation to catch him, but he stopped short and asked, "Do you take astronomy?"

There was a hopeful gleam in his blue eyes, but it quickly faded when I shook my head. He leaned back and his brow creased in frustration. I took another step back and he slid back to the other side of the counter. A small, defeated sigh escaped him and he said to himself, "at least I tried."

After a moment of hesitation he reached into his bag and pulled out a pencil and some crumpled papers. He meticulously smoothed them out, although if he was stuffing them back in his bag they were going to get wrinkled anyway. He's really must not want to do his homework. After a few more minutes of straightening papers, he began the task of filling on worksheets. Sebby rhythmically tapped the tip of his pencil on the counter as he tried figuring out the answers to his problems. His face was scrunched up in confusion most of the time, leading me to believe he was guessing at most of it.

Sebby came to a stop at a short answer and stared blankly at the paper. Eventually he took his lollipop out of his mouth and drew squiggles in the air with the empty stick. His handwriting is kind of girly too… It had that wide kind of loopy quality most girls seemed to have, but at the same time it was kind of lopsided and rushed. Not enough to be sloppy, but not enough to really be considered neat either. It was right in the middle. "A or B." I tried to get a better look at the question he wanted help with, but before I had a chance Sebby cut me off. "Wait never mind, I think I have it." He tapped his pencil over the answer marked 'A' a few times before circling 'B'. "I don't think I've ever seen you in here."

"Probably not. I don't spend as much time here as I used too."

Sebby nodded then started working on his math homework, only seeming to be paying half-his attention to the complicated problems on the page. "I guess you're not really into comics then, huh?"

"Not really. I used to read them here and there, but I don't really get the appeal of them."

He circled a large cluster of letters and numbers before slipping everything back into his bag. He rooted around in his pockets for more candy before pulling out an orange jawbreaker and slipping it into his mouth. "What did you read?"

"Spider man I think."

Sebby nodded thoughtfully, tapping his index finger on the table. "I used to read they killed off some characters and I got mad and stopped… Last superhero movie you've seen?"

It felt like a loaded question, but I hadn't really seen many. "Iron Man. Justin dragged me to see it."

Sebby smirked and I waited for him to ask me something else but he didn't. "You don't sound impressed." He paused, trying to gauge my reaction. I shrugged, not having a strong opinion either way. "It's okay. I mean, after it came out Iron Man feels a little over rated. I mean without his suit Tony's pretty useless. It's just a metal suit. I get a giant magnet and he's out of the game."

The door opened and a group of middle schoolers walked in. Sebby locked eyes with the red haired leader, and smiled, playfully asking, "it's almost four. Does your mother know where you are?"

He adjusted his wire-frame glasses and frowned. "Does your mother know you aren't studying at the library."

Sebby didn't respond and redirected his attention to me, explaining, "Alfie's my neighbors kid. I babysit him and ignore his crap taste in super hero's because I care about him."

"Alfred!"

Sebby winked at me and watched at the group made their way back over to the counter. Alfred glared up at Sebby and retorted, "keep it up and I'll get you Arkham City for your birthday."

"That game is horrible. And you'd just do it so I'd give it to you."

He smiled coyly. "Exactly. I get the game I wanted and my mom didn't directly buy it for me." He paused to wipe his glasses on his shirt before adding, "do you have any smarties left?"

"Nope. You cleaned me out. Sebby reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of assorted hard candies. "You can have those." Alfred dropped them into the bag along with his comics

"Thanks." He led his group back outside, to leave me standing there with Sebby. A comfortable silence fell between us as Sebby pulled out a worn book and his iPod. He scrolled through a bunch of things before settling on something and plugging it into the dock under the counter. "Hope you like dub step."

I gave an impartial shrug as an upbeat song started filtering in through the speakers. Sebby nudged the stool in the corner closer to the counter and slid onto it, trying to find his place. A frustrated sigh escaped him and he started rummaging through various drawers until he found some sticky notes and pulled one off, folding it in half so it was no longer sticky and sliding it into his book. He switched songs a couple more times before nodding to himself and trying to get back into reading. Strands of his dark hair fell into his face as he nodded cheerfully to the beat of his music, off in his own little world. I don't think I've ever met somebody who seems so happy all the time. It's refreshing. Sebby wrapped some strands of hair around his index finger and idly twirled them, before turning the page, reading a couple sentences, then placing his makeshift bookmark there and sighing. The book landed on the counter with a dull thud and Sebby commented, "this book is horrible."

I allowed myself a small smile after skimming the title and jokingly asked, "not enough people punching each other to your liking?"

He nodded enthusiastically, his eyes widening in excitement. "Yes actually! Although everybody brutally dying couldn't save this. If you actually like all this mushy stuff good for you, but I'm so sick of it. If I have to sit through one more crappy movie with a kissing scene in the rain or ends in a fairy tale wedding I might cry. You've seen one you have seen them all." He fell silent for a long time, his hands balling into fists as he recalled all the wasted hours he must have spend watching bad movies. Sebby refocused after a deep breath and asked, "What about you? Or do you not read unless you have to."

"I'm not really that picky. But I will say Jane Eyre wasn't as bad as you're making it seem."

Sebby threw the book on his bag, then dropped it on the floor. Out of sight out of mind. "It's horrible." He cleared his throat and sarcastically summarized, "oh no! My finacé has a mad wife that tried to burn him alive. I can't communicate my feelings so I must leave." He rolled his eyes and snorted, "She's so stupid. Running away from your problems isn't going to solve anything. The only difference between then and now if it's a lot harder to find someone who runs away since you die from paper cuts. It would make me very happy if she dies but there more than a hundred pages left so I'm extremely doubtful."

"you could just watch the movie."

"There's a movie!?"

"Two. They remade it a couple years ago."

"Ugh, that's ever worse!" He flopped forward and buried his face in the crook of his arm, asking himself why they can't ever read something interesting."

"I don't know about you but we can't read much over a hundred pages. Last year our teacher tried reading it and it took us half the year to get not even halfway through the book. She gave up and we just watched the movie instead.

Sebby picked his head up and arched an eyebrow. "Dude, I feel so bad for you. What kind of school are you going to?"

"A normal one."

Beaming he straightened and asked, "aww, you're not with all the smart kids? Don't worry you're not missing anything unless you like projects every other week." But, if you ever want to switch, you know where to find me."

"As fun as that sounds. I'll pass."

Sebby pouted and folded his arms over his chest, trying to make it seem like I was missing out on the opportunity of a life time. "Suit yourself." He slid to the floor and pushed the stool out of the way before putting his bag on the table again. Leaning over the counter he held my gaze. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned in a playful smile and he propped his chin on his hand. Flecks of purple emerged from the depths of his light blue eyes, giving them the illusion of being more of a lavender color than the whitish-blue color from before.

We both jumped when my phone was going off shattered the illusion of being the only two people around and I straightened up. After checking my text I took a small step back and explained, "I have to go."

"Bye." I could feel his eyes on me as I headed for the door. The music floating around the large room felt unfitting for the moment we just shared. There was something missing now. "Gus?" I stopped just short of letting my fingers brush against the metal handle. Anxiety had crept into his voice as he hesitantly called out to me. I was filled with a sense of urgency and turned to face him. I had expected to find him in tears but he wasn't. Sebby just slowly plodded after me with a slight sense of urgency. He came to a stop a few feet away and chewed his bottom lip. His eyes roamed around the room, never resting on mine for too long, and he wrapped a loose string from the bottom around his finger. It was hard to imagine him waiting to get yelled at for something he had done wrong. "What's wrong?"

He took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to say, then he let it out again and shook his head slightly. Torn between coming closer or going back and pretending nothing had happened, he took a step forward, then another half of one back. "You know what? Forget it." A small, apologetic smile crossed his features, but he took another small step forward.

I remained where I was, resisting the urge to make the decision for him and waiting where I was. "Are you sure?"

He nodded slightly and took another small step, keeping his eyes fixated on the floor. After a few seconds of standing there, Sebby took a deep breath and closed the space between us. He yanked me forward with a surprising amount of strength by the front of my shirt and pressed his soft lips against mine. I placed my hand over his when his grip loosened slightly, trying to keep him there for a few more precious seconds. At the very least I wanted to assure him that I didn't think he was doing anything wrong.

Sebby slowly returned to the floor, his cheeks turning red. "Uh, bye."

I held his gaze for a few seconds and blinked slowly. We both looked away and I managed, "yeah, bye." He gave a small wave and half-skipped back to the counter as if nothing had happened. The only proof I had that that had actually happened was the taste of sugar on my lips. A gust of fresh air rushed in to meet me as I pushed the door open. I hardly noticed climbing into the car or the usual questions concerning school and homework. Did he really just kiss me?

I slipped into the diner behind Justin and pretended not to notice Sebby leaning into the aisle. He smacked the guy sitting next to him and nearly choked on what he was drinking before coughing and trying to flag us down. Justin sighed softly and seemed to follow my train of thought, but he led the way over to where they were sitting and slid into the opposite side of the booth. Sebby smirked, an impish gleam in his light blue eyes as he leaned forward. "So Justin-

"Not now."

He pouted slightly and explained, "But Justin, this is my job. My other unofficial job. Tell me what trouble have fallen upon one of my favorite dynamic duos."

Justin brushed back some of his blond hair and made a point of not responding. The guy sitting next to Sebby looked back and forth between us a few more times before resolving, "I should go."

Sebby made no indication that he was going to let his friend go so easily and asked, "but what about the bae? He'll be mad if you leave him to walk home all by himself."

He sighed and calmly retorted, "Just because I'm not hanging out here for another half an hour, doesn't mean I won't come back."

Sebby rolled his eyes and chewed on the end of his straw for a few seconds, before realizing what he was doing and changing the subject. "Gus this is Tanner. Tanner, Gus. He's my slave driver."

Tanner put Sebby in a headlock and ruffled his hair, correcting, "work out partner."

"That's what I said. Make me run five miles again and you might get promoted to dungeon master. It comes with a limited time offer of whip or cattle prod."

Tanner released Sebby and nudged him over a few inches. "It was barely three, stop complaining shorty."

Sebby chewed on his short, now purple nails, then stopped shortly after and settled for drumming them on the table. The nail polish was almost completely gone despite having to have been done some time last night or this morning. I got a feeling he didn't do it that often. Sebby must have noticed me staring because he felt the need to say, "this pansy wouldn't do it by himself. Although apparently his boyfriend already doing it didn't count. And what did nobody even noticed today."

Tanner glared at Sebby. "Shut up! You're not the one I keep around for mindless judgement. At least I can go thirty seconds without putting something in my mouth."

After counting to ten Sebby stuck his tongue out at Tanner and smirked, saying in a sing-song, "That's not what Danny says."

Justin's eyes widened slightly and he covered his face with his hand. Whatever it was I was pretty sure I didn't want an explanation. Tanner glared at Sebby and nudged him to the very edge of the booth. "It's not my fault you're so thirsty. Why can't you keep yourself properly hydrated?"

Sebby slipped off the edge of the booth and plopped himself down next to me, leaving Tanner with the whole side to himself. "So Gus, how was school?"

I shrugged. School was school. Nothing particularly interesting happened today that didn't happen every other day. "School, I guess."

"No horror stories from the other side?" I shook my head, smiling. "Tanner used to go there, then I got stuck with him."

Tanner leaned forward, glancing at his green nails. "You can't make fun of me until you can tack on that final ten pounds."

"We can't all be freakishly strong. Then I couldn't call you to come bench press my car when I need to change a tire."

Tanner frowned into his glass and quietly stated, "I can't life that much."

Occasionally Sebby would throw a not so stealthy glance at Justin, who was pretending not to notice, as he tried to figure out what he was ordering.

A tall boy with orange-blond hair came out of the back and Sebby climbed back into his spot next to Tanner. He placed a large plate of cheese covered fires in front of Sebby. "Can I have another soda too?"

He met Sebby's fake innocence with an indifferent shrug. "You can that doesn't mean I'm going to get it for you." He looked to Tanner then added, "you just love leaving me with extra work at the end of my shift"

Tanner smiled. "I do it out of love."

He rolled his eyes and introduced himself, while ignoring Sebby when he said, "Awe Tanner, our baby boy's all grown up now. Look at him working." Tanner covered his face with his hands, trying to pretend he wasn't there and Daniel just calmly stated, "eight."

The color drained from Sebby's face and he fell quiet while we ordered. Tanner took a couple of his fries from Sebby after some convincing and played along with Daniel. "I think eight is a good number to burn off all the calories from these fries."

As a parting shot Daniel reminded, "And soda, can't forget those."

Tanner nodded in agreement while Sebby groaned. "We can't all be rabbits. Leave me and my caloric intake alone. I need salt and grease."

"And about three pounds of sugar daily."

Sebby's eyes widened slightly and he rummaged around in his pockets before exclaiming, "I knew I forgot something!"

Tanner rolled his eyes as Daniel came back with our drinks. He switched Sebby's empty glass with a new one. "I'm done after this, Melissa came in early."

Sebby's eyes roamed around the room again before they came to a rest on Tanner. He glared at him as he took a few more fries.

Tanner pointed at me and exclaimed, "you can't even get mad! Gus has been taking them for the past five minutes."

Sebby looked at me and smiled, giving a small wave before explaining, "that's because I like him. And Gus isn't the one trying to put me on a diet. I do not need to go on a diet and if you try getting me to drink another one of your protein shakes I am going to come over to your house, drop cloves of garlic in your blender, puree them, and leave them there."

Tanner cringed at the thought and didn't press the subject. I didn't think Sebby would actually try to do it, but the image was enough for Tanner to leave him alone. Trying to get me engaged in something Sebby asked, "How does that book end anyway?"

"You'd know if you read it yourself."

"Please Gus? I'll do your math homework; I'm at the top of my class."

I paused in a seemingly thoughtful manner. While I wasn't entirely against the idea, I kind of wanted to see if he could actually manage it. I could trudge through some math homework. Tanner's eyes widened slightly and he asked, "what book?"

"The English Book."

Tanner visibly tensed and his voice rose in pitch when he asked, "We're reading a book in English?" Sebby nodded a few times and Tanner grabbed his arm, shaking him. "Please let me copy your notes. My dad's not going to let me play lacrosse if I fail another class.:

Sebby rolled his eyes and pulled away, "dude you know I don't take notes. Just watch the movie."

"Does it follow the book?"

Sebby shrugged and looked to me. "I don't know, I'm not watching it. The book is horrible, why would I want to watch the movie."

Tanner groaned and leaned forward, resting his head on the crook of his arm. The gears in his head were whirring as he tried to figure out how to catch up and have enough time left over to do the project.

I straightened up and half-heartedly explained, "she goes back to find him a couple years later. His crazy wife had burned the house down, and he went blind from the fire. She find out where he's staying, they get married and end up having a couple kids. The end."

Sebby's face scrunched together, probably out of frustration, before he threw one of his hands up and exclaimed, "That's so stupid! She could have done that without leaving!"

Tanner picked his head up and offered, "that does sound boring. Why can't we read Lord of the Rings?"

Sebby huffed and slowly explained, "because Lord of the Rings is overrated." He noticed Daniel coming back and moved over for him while adding, "like a certain web comic.."

Daniel placed himself next to Sebby and sharply restored, "better than watching grown men run around in brightly colored spandex."

Sebby pretended to be shocked and sarcastically exclaimed, "oh no! The gray alien twins are coming to get me."

He frowned and smugly replied, "Ten."

"I am not running ten miles!"

Daniel arched an eyebrow and asked, "what's wrong, too easy?"

"We aren't all track stars."

He shrugged and looked to where Tanner was mulling over his low grade and possibly failed project. "Can you tell your dad I'm going to be short on rent this month."

Tanner slowly dragged himself back to the present and propped his head up on his hand. "Why can't you do it?"

"Because your mother hates me and is just looking for an excuse to throw me out. You dad wouldn't care if I didn't pay him at all because I 'understand the importance of getting an education despite my predicament' and hopes you'll magically decide you're going to college next year."

Tanner glared at him, and Sebby smirked. The way he said it I figured Tanner's dad might have said that in more or less the same way. "when there's trouble in paradise, I shall be more than happy to grant you a sanctuary."

Daniel quickly shook his head and rested a hand on Sebby's arm. "Hun, your mom is a fruitcake and she creeps me out. I think she doesn't understand the concept of a committed relationship and if she tries asking me to come help fix her pipes one more time I'm going to throw up. How old does she think I am?"

"Come on, you can't be more than thirty-five."

He glared at Sebby, but didn't offer a verbal a blonde girl came out of back with our food he slid out of the booth and threw his coat on. "I'm out. Later Seb."

Tanner rolled his eyes and waited for Sebby to get up so he could follow his boyfriend back outside. Sebby watched them go and sipped his soda before refocusing on Justin, who was staring a little too intently at his sandwich. "Artistic difference? Please tell me Justin, I implore!" Justin continued to ignore him and Sebby pouted, chewing on the end of his straw again for a few moments before picking up where he had left off. "I'm being poetic here. All this talk of English projects and books has prompted me to channel my inner muse. I think I might sing."

Justin choked out a weak 'don't' before coughing to clear his throat.

A large smile spread across Sebby's face and he leaned back with his glass in his hand. Happy he got the rise out of Justin he wanted, he took a long, thoughtful sip before asking, "tell me Justin, what ails you?"

Justin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before going into the details of the different paths him and Michael saw their comic taking. Sebby's eyes roamed around the room, stopping on the odd group of people coming in and out, or the clock on the wall. At some point he started texting somebody. The only sign he gave that he actually was paying attention was the slight crease in his forehead when Justin was about halfway through what Michael wanted to do. When Justin fell silent Sebby placed his now empty glass on the table leaned forward. "Michael doesn't know what he's talking about. That would undo all the character development the past three issues have served up on a silver platter. Let alone that would create plot holes and that's just stupid. Why? Why would this even be a valid option. Wait. It's not. As a prominent leader in your fan base I say no. This is one of the stupidest things that have come out of the pair of you. Believe me because some things you've pitched sound like bad fanfiction that I don't read…"

Sebby cleared his throat and trailed off. Justin nodded in agreement and asked, "please go tell him that. I could say the exact same thing and end up arguing with him."

"I will. Trust me. But communication is key to get your point across."

Justin rolled his eyes and commented, "now you sound like a bad marriage counselor. Talk to them, you aren't talking enough. Ignore all the other problems you have and talk to them about it because words will fix anything."

Sebby chose to ignore, or was oblivious to the edge on Justin's words and rolled his eyes. "Nah, my mom keeps spewing out relationship facts that she gets off the internet. She thinks it'll help her keep a man but she's crazy so that's why."

"Your mom is not that bad."

Sebby and Justin exchanged slightly disgruntled but knowing glances before Justin finally said, "You're still at home."

"Want to switch? I'll keep an eye on your hubby and my mom can have a 'real' son."

Justin stabbed one of his fries with a fork and said, "pass. Brian would eat you alive. Or send you on a date with Gus."

"I wouldn't mind the latter." Sebby locked eyes with and smirked while I tried to hide my embarrassment. "What about you?"

I didn't respond and sipped my water, hoping he would let the subject drop. How was I supposed to handle this? Was he joking or being serious? There wasn't exactly a way to tell without asking him, and I wasn't about to do that. For now, avoidance was the best approach. I don't think he was joking yesterday. I could still feel his eyes on me and shrugged. It wasn't like I was opposed to the idea or anything.

"I don't remember you being so shy. Maybe I misread you."

Justin offered his two cents, although it wasn't helping me any. "He's mad his dad hasn't been able to set him up with anyone."

"I'm single and available. Bam. Problem solved. What next? Energy crisis? Need a language tutor? I'm fluent in several languages and Latin."

"Why is Latin separate?"

"Because it's a dead language."

Justin rolled his eyes and looked to Sebby as his phone started ringing. After a few moments he arched an eyebrow and asked, "Aren't you going to answer it?"

Sebby cringed and shook his head. "She'll call back, then I'll answer. As far as she's concerned I'm still at school." He pulled his sleeves down and dropped a twenty on the table, preparing to go before his mom called again. He seemed to be looking for something before the phone started ringing again and he quickly answered, "Hello?" He flinched and held the phone a few inches away from his ear. "No, I gave it to her… I have the graded paper in my bag its not a zero anymore… I'm not lying! I'm still at school. No I can't leave early, I have to do one more set." He continued to look for whatever he had lost before his eyes widened and he checked the time. "No I can't just quit, I won't get any stronger if I quit halfway through. Six. Six. Five forty five. I can't come home at five I won't be done. Five thirty. Yes. Bye."

He quickly stood and checked time again. "Sorry, gotta run. Tanner has my bag. Bye Gus."

By time I realized he was leaving I already caught sight of him jogging down the street and calling Tanner. He's all over the place sometimes. Justin smirked and stated, "bet you five bucks he gets grounded."

Gus Kinney: oh young love i hope you like the chapter


	4. I love you

Gus Kinney: i know this story is not like the way i said i would do them but whatever lol here is chapter 4 called i love you

Stepping up to the front door or Sebby's rather impressive front door, I straightened my shirt a few times before ringing the doorbell. It echoed around inside and something fell to the floor before I could hear heels clicking off the floor. "Mom I said I got it."

"You don't need to get the door you need to go finish your history paper."

I blinked in the sudden bright light as the door creaked open and was met with a tall woman. "Uh, Hello."

Her eyes narrowed and she looked back at Sebby, who was lurking in the background. He seemed frustrated and kept moving every so often to get a better vantage point from his place near the island. Ignoring me, she turned to Sebby and started yelling at him. "You're grounded. What did I tell you about having friends over?"

"I told you he's a friend of Danny and he needs help with his math. We're going to his house. Tanner's going to meet me afterwards and bring me home."

"Absolutely not. He's going to need to find somebody else because you are not to leave this house."

"Mom-

"No."

Sebby groaned and threw his hands up, heading for the stairs. "My history paper is already done. If I'm going to do nothing it might as well be a productive nothing."

"Then he can stay here."

"No! You won't leave us alone if I do."

His mom turned back to me and explained, "There you have it. I'm sorry you came all the way out here for nothing. Have a nice evening." She closed the door back before I could say anything in my defense. What just happened?

Sebby texted me from where ever he was. Make it look like you're leaving, I'll be down in a minute. Confused, I looked around before I started shuffling down the driveway. Stones shifted beneath my feet, and shattered any hopes Sebby might have had about a stealthy get away. A window squeaked open behind me, and I turned to find Sebby messing with the screen. Is he insane? He's on the second floor! I turned and tried to stop him, but by the time I had taken a few steps he had already shimmied over to the roof above the porch and was landing on the grass nearby with a practiced landing.

He brushed himself off as I jogged over, thinking nothing of it. "Are you crazy?"

Sebby rolled his eyes after checking his phone screen in the low light and slipped his hands into mine with a cheery smirk. "I've done that loads of times. Jumping off of high places and not getting hurt is a talent of mine. It takes practice, skill, and lots of afternoons spent paintballing. I should drag you along next time."

Sebby nudged me without a care in the world while I struggled to keep up with him. I wasn't sure if I wanted to help him sneak out. His mom already seemed to not like me, I wasn't going to earn any extra points by pretending not to have noticed watching her son climb out of his bedroom window.

I was led off the driveway and into the thin woods around Sebby's house. He easily picked his way through the various fallen branches and assorted sunken in patches of ground and helped me along before asking, "Where are we going anyway? Unless you wanna hang out in the woods. Then by all means I could teach you the layout of this place inside and out."

"I was thinking more of a movie."

He pulled me forward and turned sharply. "Sounds good, as long as it's not a rom com. I can't watch any more of those. It's all Tanner and Danny watch together and they make me nauseous."

I smiled, even though he couldn't see it and fell in step next to him as we reached the road. "How about a horror movie?"

His eyes sparkled under the street lamps and he nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Let's watch the stupid teenagers get themselves killed due to their lack of common sense."

"Weren't we just the ones walking in the woods at night you snuck out?"

There was a long pause before he finally said, "That's different. We aren't going to sneak into an abandoned asylum or anything. Besides between the two of us we have more than enough common sense."

He let go of my hand, and turned while jumping, then started walking backwards. "Quick, you're being followed, by a knife wielding psycho, what do you do?"

"Call the cops?"

Sebby rolled his eyes and laced his fingers behind his head. "Yes and no. If this is a typical horror movie, then the cops are either incompetent or all dead. Or they show up conveniently at the last moment. Go for it if you want. You head for a populated area, don't run because following said bad horror movie logic you will fall and be unable to get up until you are being stabbed in the back. It will either teleport in front of you Slender Man style and cut you off or keep following from a distance breathing loudly. I give you a high eighty. You pass. I chose you as the person who lives when I become the crazed alter ego killer that goes around killing their tormentors."

He stumbled over a curb and caught himself. "At the rate you're going you're the one who backs into the killers knife and looks down asking 'I've been stabbed?'"

Sebby crinkled his nose and slipped his hand into mine again. "I would think you would be nice enough to tell me I'm about to walk into somebody's knife. But fine, be that way."

I squeezed his hand and paused thoughtfully. "That's not good, then I'll get tomahawked as I'm running in the opposite direction into the woods."

"So we end up being the stupid couple that dies before the opening credits."

"Pretty much. This would be where we die."

He let out a deep sigh before pausing thoughtfully. "Well we aren't dead, and no creepy vans have driven by. This first date isn't leading to a bad horror movie. Unless a zombie apocalypse breaks out we'll be fine."

"I sincerely hope it doesn't."

Sebby checked the time, and a text from somebody then asked, "You do realize this place closes at ten."

"What time is it?"

"Almost ten." He beamed and nudged me.

"I didn't realize it was so late. I know somewhere we can go."

"Where?"

I started to lead Sebby down one of the many side streets. "It's a surprise."

His brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to figure out where I had decided to take him. When I led him into the woods again he finally spoke. "I don't like surprises."

"You're the one who suggested we hang out in the woods."

He swung out hands back and forth cheerfully and remained a couple paces ahead of me. He would point out the occasional branch or rock, but stayed quiet most of our walk. We hadn't really been seeing as much of each other since he got grounded, and apparently kept getting his punishment extended. If being home late and 'lying' about handing in a paper got him almost a month I'd hate to see what this did. From what Sebby had told me his mom works a lot anyway so he could get away with going home late now and then, but when ever he tried calling me she always seemed to be there.

As if he had been reading my mind, Sebby stopped suddenly and turned to face me. "Don't be surprised if I don't have a phone after this. I'll steal Tanner's if my mom decided to take it."

"I wouldn't have been mad if you didn't sneak out."

He shrugged and started walking again, falling into step besides me. "I would have. Honestly, I make every effort to spend as little time at home as possible. Technically I was grounded three years ago, and my mom forgot about it so I ended up getting off the hook otherwise I'd still be in trouble. At this rate I might as well wait until she had a business trip, leave a note saying I'm moving in with my dad then go move in with Tanner."

"Your dad lives near here?"

"Nope. But by time either one of them have figured out I'm not where I said I would be, I'll already be settled and Tanner's parents adore me. His mom skimmed out on affection for Danny and placed it all on me." He skipped over a fallen branch and smiled. It was weird. Even when he was talking about stuff like this he seemed so care free. I wonder what would happen if he wasn't all smiles and sunshine… even if it was only a few moments.

We stepped out into an empty clearing and Sebby broke free from me, wandering towards the scraggly tree at the center. "I think I've seen this tree before…" It was an attempt to change the subject, but talking about trees felt like better first date material than his broken household.

"Have you?"

He grabbed onto one of the low hanging branches and experimentally rested all of his weight on it, before hauling himself up. He climbed a few branches higher before settling on a fairly flat one and shaking his head. "Nope. It's good for climbing though." I stood at the base of the tree and gazed up at him, hoping he didn't fall or something. This must be what parents feel like when their kids are doing something dangerous.

I flinched as the branches creaked in the wind, but Sebby didn't seem to mind. His hair fluttered around his shoulders as he gazed up at the starry sky. "Aren't you coming up?"

"I don't think so." I took a step back from the tree when he pouted.

"It's not that high." He stood and held onto a nearby branch for balance. "I bet I could jump off easy."

"Please don't!"

Sebby giggled and slid into a branch a couple feet lower, before dropping to the ground. "Easy." He brushed some dirt off his hands, beaming. "Relax a bit. I might have to teach you how to climb a tree if you keep this up." He laced his fingers behind my head and added, "or carry you home bridal style." I leaned in to his fleeting kiss before Sebby danced away and remained a few feet away from me.

"You haven't even seen what I came to show you."

"Hmm? I'm kind of digging the scraggly tree."

I brushed against his arm on the way past, assuring, "It's way better than a scraggly tree."

"I'm holding you to that." I heard him jogging after me as I approached the large oak tree at the edge of the clearing.

An overhanging platform still stood, along with solid walls. Vines had started crawling up the sides, but it still looked the same as the last time I had come up here. I didn't think it'd still be here. Sebby whistled as he sized up the large tree in front of him. His eyes widened in excitement as he pulled the sleeves of his sweater down over his hands, "Now that's a climbing tree." A large smiled spread across his face as he nudged me playfully, "race you to the top."

I rolled my eyes as he started hauling himself up the branches with all the agility of a squirrel. He's amazing. Sebby stopped suddenly on a branch a quarter of the way up and looked down at me. "Stop staring at my ass and come on! Slow poke!"

"I wasn't…" He arched an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest before I made my way to the base of the tree and started pulling myself up. I can't remember the last time I've done this.

I heard Sebby making his way through the branches above me. The occasional leaf or shred of bark would drift down, but I closed the distance between us by several feet. He swung into what remained of the window as I slid in through the trapdoor. My arms ached from the effort, and my breathing was slightly ragged. Sebby seemed like he could have gone done this three more times before he was going to stop. "I win."

Sebby flopped down on the floor next to me, rolling his sleeves up. "I'll get you next time."

"I'm doubtful, but I'll believe it when I see it." Branches scratched against the walls as the wind picked up again. A leaf floated in and skittered across the floor, leaving an eerie silence between us when it stopped.

Sebby stretched out his shoulders before draping himself across my chest. His warmth spread through me as I wrapped my arms around him and sighed contently. "Do you think aliens are real?"

I felt my eyes widen at the question, and took a few moments to realize Sebby had spoken. I caught him gazing through a hole in the roof at the visible path of sky. "I don't know. Never really thought about it."

He paused for a while, and I thought he was done, but then he pursued, "what about fairies?" I huffed and didn't respond, prompting him to ask, "or changelings."

I couldn't even being to start to follow his train of thought and pulled him into a kiss. Sebby fell silent and rested his hand along the side of my face. I wrapped my fingers around him and turned on my side, bundling him against my chest. "If they are, let them come steal us away in the night. Then we can explore the ends of the universe together."

He nodded slightly, but didn't say anything indicating he was going to respond further. Did I say something wrong? I felt him shiver and started to sit up, when he wrapped his fingers around the fabric of my shirt and buried his face in my chest. "Let's stay here for a little while. I'm not ready to go yet."

I leaned back down and wrapped my arm around me again as he relaxed against me. "Just don't fall asleep, okay?"

I felt him smile, and heard his muffled voice call, "no promises."

"Sabrina?" Sebby tensed next to me and kept scrolling through whatever he was doing on his phone. He didn't show any signs of moving or responding to his mom. "Sabrina."

I could hear her moving around further in the house and asked, "Who's she looking for?"

He shrugged and turned onto his side so I couldn't see his face. "Who knows? I think she's getting senile in her old age." His tone had a slight edge to it, there must have been something I was missing, but I didn't dare ask. Sebby seemed frustrated enough lately and I didn't want to add to it. Whatever it was, it could wait. Unless his mom is talking to him… "Ignore her, she'll go away eventually."

He placed my hand on the side of his face and held it there for a few seconds, until I started stroking his cheek with my thumb. He relaxed slightly, but he seemed troubled when his mom's voice grew closer. She came to stand in front of us with her hands on her hips. she eyes me with contempt, before pretending I wasn't there (like always) and started yelling at Sebby. "I told you that you can't have friends over when you're grounded so why is he here?"

A frustrated sigh escaped him as he curtly replied, "Gus is helping me with my English project."

"From where I stand it looks like you're trying to sleep. He's not doing all your work for you."

"He hasn't read it yet. I'd start it if you hadn't taken my laptop."

"What about that computer you had me buy?"

Sebby slowly sat up, rubbing his face with his hands. "I never asked you for the money to build it. If you want it back so bad I'll sell it. Besides, it's my gaming computer, I don't do school work on it. I bring my laptop to school because it's easier to keep track of everything and that's how I take notes. I've told you this a hundred times before."

A brief, tense silence fell across the room while his mom shifted her weight and Sebby placed his head back in my lap. "You told me you had that done."

"No, I told you I finished the chapters I needed to finish. I still have another few weeks to finish it."

"How long does it take to write a one-page paper? Don't think you're waiting until the last minute like you always do."

His teeth clenched together as he rolled off the cough and stood. "I wouldn't call two weeks the last minute, but I'll keep that in mind for next time because I'm not making any effort to finish things early." Sebby slipped his hand into mine and towed me towards the stairs, and up to his room.

I could hear his mom trailing after us and she called after us, "And what did I tell you about dressing like that? If you're going to keep pretending to be a boy, at least wear some clothes that fit."

Sebby slammed the door to his room shut and left me standing off to the side while he rummaged through various doors, while simultaneously trying to clean up. He stuffed a few oversized shirts into the hamper nearby, and dumped some graded papers into the bottom drawer of his desk. I don't think I've ever seen him this mad. Should I do something?

Another drawer slamming shut seemed to answer the question for me and I stayed silent. He dropped a bag of hard candies on his desk and popped one in his mouth. Sebby chewed his way through a few of them before mostly yelling to himself, "She pissed me off so much! I'm passing all of my classes and I high scores on all my tests! What more can she want from me? She gets mad when I'm gone all the time, then gets mad when I'm home all the time because she grounded me for something stupid. What the fuck am i supposed to do! Stop existing?" He paused and popped another candy into his mouth, then threw open his squeaky window. "She'll probably claw her way into the void and yell at me for being a fleeting thought through her tiny head." I cringed as the sound of cracking sugar filled the silence and took a hesitant step forward as he flopped down on his bed.

After a fleeting second he was up again, pacing around like a caged animal. At the rate he was going I thought he might have put a hole through the wall or something. He started chewing his way through a few lollipops before turning to me. Some of his original composure had returned, but he quickly wiped his face on the hem of his shirt. "You're still here?"

I nodded weakly and took a small step forward. "Yeah."

"Why?"

Already walking on thin ice, I didn't want to say something that would set him off again and answered with a question, "do you want me to go?"

"No but…" An angry huff escaped him as he flopped backwards onto his bed. I sat next to him as he stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I thought you'd just leave."

"Why would I do that?"

Sebby propped himself up on his elbow, his face scrunched up in confusion, but he was hesitant to say whatever I had been missing. "Y'know… what my mom said…"

What his mom said… "Oh. That." I guess I hadn't really realized until now. Especially with everything that had been going on. "What about it?"

Sebby wouldn't look up at me and shrugged. "You aren't leaving?"

"No, why would I?"

He flinched when I started stroking his soft hair and hesitantly began, "because I'm a girl."

"Funny, I don't see a girl here, do you?"

"No but...oh!" He giggled, smiling.

Resting my forehead against his, I finally captured his gaze. "I'm not going to throw everything away just because of something like that."

Still doubtful he pointed out, "We've only been dating a month."

Kissing the tip of his nose, I replied, "one of the best months of my life."

"Really?"

I nodded and kissed him again. "I love you."

His face turned bright red and he buried his face in my neck, seeming to be searching for something to say. He took a deep breath then calmly replied, "I love you too."

Gus Kinney: how do you like that even after finding out that they both love each other now thats true love we got one more chapter to go


	5. The ending

Chapter 5

Tanner's trailed along behind Sebby, carrying another one of his boxes on the way to his and Gus' new apartment. Struggling a bit under the weight, he commented, "Geez you got a lot of crap."

Sebby took the box from him, balancing it on his left side with a bit of difficulty while trying to open the door. He set it down on the floor before turning to Tanner and firmly stating, "I do not have a lot of crap." He nudged a box labeled 'Gus' books' in black sharpie with his foot and continued, "That's crap."

Without looking up from his place in the midst of tightly wrapped glass plates Gus interjected, "No that's art. What you're contributing is crap."

Sebby stuck his tongue out at Gus then turned his back on him. Tanner rolled his shoulders a few more times before asking, "How many more boxes do we have to move?"

Sebby and Gus glanced at each other then shrugged. "I think I only have a couple more but, they're at Gus' house. We can move he rest ourselves if you want to take off."

Tanner shrugged, stretching his aching shoulder muscles for a few more seconds. After thinking for a few moments he flopped down on the floor. "I just need a break. Danny should be here soon."

Sebby nodded then wandered towards the kitchen. With some difficulty he peeled the tape off one of the boxes labelled 'kitchen'. Inside were a few plates and cups tightly wrapped in tissue paper and bubble wrap. Tanner tried peering onto the high counter from his place on the floor with some difficulty. Once Sebby held up one of the gold trim china plates he asked, "Aren't those your mom's?"

Lowering the plate behind the box, Sebby trying to fake innocence when slowly replying, "no. They were donated to the 'Sebby is leaving the nest and needs plates' fund." Sebby turned and placed it in one of the cabinets.

Tanner rolled his eyes and moved to the counter, helping Sebby unpack the rest of the 'misplaced' china'. "How'd your mom react to that? I just know how much she loved knowing Gus was at the graduation party."

An impish smirk spread across Sebby's face as he placed another plate in the cabinet. "She doesn't even know I'm gone."

Tanner's eyes widened in shock and he exclaimed, "You can't just move out and not tell her!"

Sebby shrugged nonchalantly, dropping the box onto the side of the wooden island. "Oh contraire mon amis, I just did."

"It's not right! Gus would you leave without telling your parents where you were going?"

Gus had been trying his hardest to not get involved when the conversation touched upon the subject of Sebby's mother. He was still trying to figure out how the two were even related. Aside from hair color they were nothing alike. Sebby was so laid back and passive about most things, while his mother would scream at you if you put a mug back in the cabinet half a centimeter out of its 'proper place'. Gus had learned that the hard way when he was helping Sebby with the dishes one night. That was the main reason they preferred having dinner at Gus' house when the opportunity presented itself.

The silence between them only spread and Gus sighed to himself before choosing his response carefully. "I wouldn't but that's because my parents would go sick with worry if they found out I had disappeared one day."

Sebby tried sounding serious when he prompted, "You saying my mommy doesn't love me."

"I never said that!" Gus started to stand, his face turning pink from embarrassment, but Sebby and Tanner broke out in laughter, and he settled back on the floor.

"I'm teasing. My mother would trade me for some magic beans and a nice looking pool boy."

Tanner looked to Sebby and commented, "But you don't have a pool?"

"She will when she finds one. She'll be out there everyday to drop leaves in it so she can watch his-

"Okay Sebby how about we go grab the rest of the boxes." Gus stood, causing Sebby to stop short. He knew where Sebby's train of thought was going and the last thing he wanted was unwarranted mental images of Sebby's mother.

Smiling, Sebby bounded over to Gus and intertwined his fingers with his before headed back down the stairs to Tanner's truck. Tanner eased himself onto the counter and looked around the pre-furnished apartment the two had decided to rent. Thinking back to their high school years, and remembering him and Sebby had gone through together. Time really does fly. I think this is the happiest I've seen him in a while.

A smile spread across his face at all the worried late night texts he had received from his best friend asking for relationship advice or 'I think Gus is mad at me because I took his last chicken nugget'. It had somehow turned into an argument about who would win in a fight between Legolas or Hawkeye, and they both ended up sleeping through most of their morning classes, but it was a fond memory they both shared.

Tanner brought himself back to the present as he heard voices out in the hallway and stood, hoping he wasn't going to be stuck into moving more boxes. Sebby came in behind Gus carrying a couple small boxes, and announced Danny's arrival by saying, "Look who shows up after all the hard work is done."

"There always has to be a useless member of the group, and today its my turn."

Sebby rolled his eyes and set the boxes down on the counter. "We don't need a useless party in moving. Besides, Gus is the one who's standing around looking pretty."

"I am not!" Gus tried his hardest to sound angry with Sebby, but given he had just opened and closed doors most of the morning, he didn't sound convincing.

Tanner draped one of his arms around Sebby's shoulder and added, "You got the men doing the heavy lifting while you boys get all the easy work."

Sebby folded his arms over his chest and nodded in agreement, trying to hide a forming smile with much difficulty.

Gus went back to his spot in the middle of the room, returning to unpacking a box labelled 'DVDs and such'. "If it wasn't for this boy the bed wouldn't have been made and the towels and extra blankets would be in the hall closet. The stove wouldn't be clean and dinner wouldn't be in the fridge."

Sebby fell silent for a few moments, before grinning, "I put the plates away and carried all the boxes up here." Tanner elbowed him and Sebby corrected, "Most of the boxes."

Danny looked around for something to break the packing tape with, before using one of his keys. "You can eat out of a pot."

Sebby pouted and Gus silently agreed from where he was trying to come up with a way to fit everything into the drawer in the tv stand. As good as he was at putting together puzzles and space management, this was a test of his abilities and no matter how he stacked everything, there was no way it would all fit. "There's no way all of these are fitting in here."

Sebby smacked the counter and exclaimed, "I forgot my monitor! I knew I was forgetting something! I have my PlayStation but I don't have my monitor!"

Tanner rolled his eyes and helped Danny put all the silverware in an seemingly appropriate drawer. "Why don't you just grab it tomorrow, you're mom's not going to be back for another week anyway, right?"

"True. But how the hell did I manage that. It was plugged in, and I remember unplugging it, telling myself I need to go get it again, then… I don't remember."

"It's okay Sebby, you're still pretty."

"I don't want to be pretty, I want to strike fear into the hearts of those around me!"

Tanner dropped the empty box on the floor with the others and retorted, "Just show them how creepily obsessive you are when it comes to killing severely under leveled monsters to get a rare drop you don't need then you'll be set."

"Dude, I've gotten achievements for killing like over a million of the little beasts, its amazing." Sebby's eyes glimmered with excitement, and only further proved Tanner's point.

Gus welcomes a distraction from his parents texting him and started moving boxes to the side so there was more room. The box of DVD's lay abandoned near where they should have been going for the time being. "My parents are stopping by with a housewarming present."

"I bet they made brownies! You're mom makes the best they are like chocolate clouds!"

Tanner put Sebby in a headlock and swayed back and forth."You don't need any more sugar. You aren't going to sleep tonight and Gus is going to banish you to the couch."

"That's okay! I'm not working tomorrow so I can marathon all 'The Avengers; movies! Hail hydra!"

"Gus you boyfriend's gone rabid, we gotta put him down." Tanner slowly started dragging Sebby onto the floor. Sebby trying squirming out of his grip with some difficult, before elbowing Tanner and ducking under his arms.

"No mortal could ever hope to defeat-

Sebby was cut off with a squeal as Tanner threw him over his shoulder and placed Sebby in the hallway. "You can come back when you can behave yourself."

"You can't throw me out of my apartment! You don't even live here." Sebby tried pushing Tanner out of the way, but he had blocked the doorway and was determined to not let Sebby back in unless given a reason to.

"As the oldest, I'm in charge now."

"Danny's older than you!"

"I am the oldest person in the threshold." Sebby struggled to shove Tanner back a few inches and nearly fell a few times. Gus and Danny ignored their childish antics for the time being, although Gus was concerned about the neighbors filing a complaint of something from them being so loud. He had gotten used to Sebby's random bursts of energy, but sometimes they came at the strangest and left him wanting to sleep. Most of the time that's what ended up happening. It had started snowing when they were supposed to go on a date so they stayed on and Sebby's managed get sucked into the new Wolverine movie, despite having seen it ten times. While he was pointing out some of the obvious directions the plot was taken, Gus had fallen asleep about ten minutes in. He woke up a few times when Sebby was being strangely quiet, but that was because he had managed to slip out from under Gus to heat up some more hot chocolate or make more popcorn.

Sebby managed to keep up his struggling for a few more minutes, before getting bored and sitting on the floor in front of the open door. "Okay, I yield. Let me back in."

"What's the magic word?"

"Now."

Tanner frowned and glared down at Sebby. "No. Try again."

"Gus! Tanner is being mean to me."

Gus sighed and stopped his search for the box cutter long enough to scold the childish pair, "If you two can't behave Sebby is going in time out and you're going home."

They fell silent and Tanner let Sebby back in. Sebby closed the door back then went over to the abandoned pile of games and DVD's before putting what was left on the shelf above the drawer. "No not there."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't look right."

Sebby frowned and continued stacking everything in neat piles, "We can move them after. For now they stay."

Gus reluctantly agreed and nudged a box of comic books towards Sebby. "Where are these going?"

"Um…" Sebby paused thoughtfully and looked around, trying to figure out where would be the best place for them, before shrugging and picking the box up. "Spare room for now. We can figure it out later." Gus nodded in agreement and watched Sebby go before opening an unlabeled box. Inside was a few mugs and a vase. He hadn't remembered packing this one, and Sebby was the one who insisted on labeling everything. Unless Sebby had stolen his mother's vase too, he didn't know where it had came from. This looks an awful lot like the one we had at home…

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he left the box on the counter for Tanner and Danny to deal with. They had been unpacking the boxes for the kitchen at a good clip. If anything was out of place he could always rearrange things later.

Gus opened the door to see his parents smiling faces and took the plate they were holding before welcoming them in. "This place is a mess still."

His mom kissed him on the forehead and took a few steps inside. "Well you've only been here a couple days. Sebby wrapped his arms around Gus' mother and rested his head against his chest, "Hi mommy."

"Hello dear."

Gus' mom turned and asked, "Don't I get a hug?"

"Maybe." Sebby gave her a hug too then grabbed the slightly dingy vase off the island. He looked to Tanner and Danny as they tried to fit a few casserole dishes in the bottom cabinet, "I hope you two are washing those. That glass one doesn't look very clean either."

Tanner huffed and looked up at him. "Then your mother needs to stop buying cooking utensils she doesn't need an hoarding them in her pantry."

Sebby smirked and cheekily explained, "where do you think I got half this stuff from? I know what she uses and doesn't use. She won't even notice they're gone. Maybe the plates, but thats for another day. And how the hell do you turn this sink on!" His hand brushed against the brass faucet and Sebby's eyes glimmered with excitement as he filled the vase with water. "Gus its one of those touchy sink thingys!"

Gus rubbed his face with his hands a few times, pretending he hadn't heard about his boyfriends excitement from a sink. Sebby turned it on and off a few times, resembling a cat about to play with a laser pointer. He did this a few more times before Gus firmly requested, "Stop. You're going to break it!"

Sebby turned it one one more time to finish cleaning the vase before turning it off and leaving the crystal vase in the sink to dry (since he didn't feel like getting a towel from the closet). "Hey Gus, isn't this your vase? I didn't take one."

"I was thinking that."

Gus' parents exchanged knowing glances before his mother explained, "it's part of our house-warming present."

"What's the other part?" Sebby noticed the plate sitting on the counter and stole a few brownies before anybody could tell him otherwise. "Mommy you're the best." He stuffed half of one in his mouth and managed, "I love you."

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

He swallowed as Tanner went to take one and said "You didn't do any work, you can't have any."

"Like hell I can't. As your adopted brother, half your stuff is mine." He took a brownie out of Sebby's hand and added, "I told you you can't have any sugar anyway."

Sebby frowned and slid onto the island. "No, that's Danny. And he can have one because I like him."

Tanner shrugged, and slid onto the counter next to the sink. "Thanks. These are the best."

Gus' mother smiled. "I'm happy you kids like them so much."

Gus grabbed one of the last ones before Sebby could claim them as his and held the plate out to his parent, who moved to the other side of the island. "We have another batch at home, enjoy."

Sebby took another one, chewing happily as all the extra chocolate restored his energy. "You guys want something to drink? I stole the rest of my mom's Earl Gray."

Tanner sighed and explained, "What didn't you take from you mother?"

"The furniture, her vases, one of the silver sets, her oven mitts." The list went on for quite some time before Sebby concluded, "I only took stuff she wouldn't miss. Besides, I don't know how to shops for pots or pans. Some stuff melts or it like degrades at high I took is really worth money so it's fine."

Gus' mom sighed and chided, "Sebby' you shouldn't steal from your parents."

Sebby tried to defend himself by rewording things. "It's not stealing. I'm just borrowing everything...without telling her."

"That doesn't sound any better."

Tanner interjected, "He didn't even tell her he left. She's going to come home and find all his stuff gone."

"Sebastian!"

"What? It's not my fault she's gone. I bet you a teapot that she won't' even call me when she gets back."

"I'm not taking stolen property."

Sebby grabbed the teapot with pink flowers painted on the side out of the cabinet and placed it on the table in-between them as a bargaining chip. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides we have one like that"

Sebby shrugged and put a pot filled with water on the stove. "If you change your mind it's there. I have two more." After Gus' mom glared at him he explained, "I actually bought those! The plates don't have a matching teapot!" He cleared his throat and rushed to add, "I broke it when I was little."

Tanner nodded in agreement, "he used to have butter fingers. I fixed it with a lot of time spent playing catch and think fast."

Sebby huffed and folded his arms over his chest, "I got a black eye from one of those!"

"It was a tennis ball! I didn't think it would hurt."

"You thought wrong!" Gus wrapped his arms around Sebby and kissed his temple, calming his flustered boyfriend. He buried his face in Sebby's hair and whispered, "don't worry, if he does it again I'll be the one to throw it back."

Sebby tipped his head back so it rested on Gus' shoulder and asked, "promise?"

Gus nodded and pulled Sebby against his chest. "Promise."

Gus Kinney: it might not be the best ending but there it is see you next time for the next story


End file.
